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View Full Version : Do you think this is fair? Just want some opinions...



grandmaster
08-13-2008, 04:29 PM
Ok, so as some of you many/not know, i did the 8.8 swap, Claytons rear LA, Tcase W/Tera 2 low. Well a friend of my dad has a shop here localy and said he would help me do it. I went down and talked to him and asked him how much he would charge me to do it down here, he replied "Just do everything you can do, and what you cant do i will do and i will just charge you for that." I figured ok, that sounds fair to me, just wanted a price range but he wouldnt give me one ( just wanted to see if i was looking at $500 or $2000). Anywho, the jeep went in on monday and came out the following tuesday. Went down today and picked up my bill and it was nearly $1400!!! I would have been fine with that if i hadnt done any of the work, but i was there M-F working for 10 hours straight and then M-tues working for about 8 hours.

He gave me the bill and it had the following listed out

Parts: $103 (which i agree with, i know what i used of his and what i had to order and how much it was)

Rebuild T-case: $375

Rebuild Rear Axle: $375

Welding and Misc: $412

Ok... so what i did is the following

Cleaned up the 8.8 and stripped all insides
Removed D35
Removed all stock bracket (exhaust included) Removed T-case
Welded all brackets on 8.8 (exept truss which he did)
Bolted up the new axle, did measuring, adjusted arms, set pinion angle
As well as other small minor thing that dont really matter (break lines, bumpstops etc..)

What he did...
Welded frame protectors
Welded 2 brackets to the unibody as well as the truss
Swapped the input shaft into the 231 and installed tera 2 low (he rebuilt the t-case with new seals and everything that i brougth him)
Rebuilt the rear axle (same gears, new shims, bearings, seals, everything i brought him)
And he helped me here and there, on and off doing some small things (wiring abs, bleading breaks etc..)

Sorry for the long story just kind of wanted to see if i was treated fairly, more then fair, or just got jipped. For that kind of money i would have been better off to drive to maxx's house and have him help me ha ha ;)

Thanks for reading!!

dirty
08-13-2008, 06:13 PM
I dunno man, Transfer case bill seems about right. Axle rebuilt might be a little high, however, the dealership will charge ~$900 bucks for that. Only thing that really stands out is the welding to me, but then I have no visual idea on how much he welded, so it's tough to make an opinion.

I guess you learned your lesson either way.

grandmaster
08-13-2008, 08:54 PM
I agree, Transfer case and the axle both seemed right to me, and the parts for 100 was also right. I know for a fact he didnt do $400 worth of welding, between the 2 brackets frame side, axle tubes, and frame protectors. And yes i learned my lesson, and life sucks.

BigDaveZJ
08-13-2008, 09:32 PM
How much time did they spend welding? And who did the prep work for the welding? $400 to have a pro weld on your long arms really isn't that bad IMO.

DJJordache
08-13-2008, 09:33 PM
you have to pay to play if you can't do it yourself....

those prices are very fair for having shop do the work. and the welding part is very fair since it is all labor and it takes a lot of time for GOOD surface prep for proper welding to the unibody! It took me quite a while to get it CLEAN on mine and to modify one of the rear side brackets to clear the fuel lines. And it takes time to cut off the stock lower brackets on the unibody too. if he went through the effort to get the parts very clean for welding then consider yourself lucky the bill was not more. I'd let it be and be happy with your new longarms! welcome to the Clayton club:D

grandmaster
08-13-2008, 11:07 PM
How much time did they spend welding? And who did the prep work for the welding? $400 to have a pro weld on your long arms really isn't that bad IMO.

I would say an hour and a half tops, I did the prep work so that was taken care of, and i wouldnt consider him "pro" he is not a welder, but he can weld if that makes sense. They are good welds and good penetration.


you have to pay to play if you can't do it yourself....

those prices are very fair for having shop do the work. and the welding part is very fair since it is all labor and it takes a lot of time for GOOD surface prep for proper welding to the unibody! It took me quite a while to get it CLEAN on mine and to modify one of the rear side brackets to clear the fuel lines. And it takes time to cut off the stock lower brackets on the unibody too. if he went through the effort to get the parts very clean for welding then consider yourself lucky the bill was not more. I'd let it be and be happy with your new longarms! welcome to the Clayton club:D

Ok, that kind of what i wanted to know. I was the one that did all the prep work for the welding. I made all the brackets fit and measured everthing, all he had to do was weld it on. I was also the one that cut off all the old brackets and tied everything up so it wasnt in the way and made room for the fuel lines/brake lines and such. I did all the painting when the welding was done. All in all i think the prices are fair except the welding portion, but ive never paid someone to do my welding so i wouldnt really know. I did all the welding axle side except the truss and axle tubes.

As far as the long arms, tcase and axle go i couldnt be happier, all turned out very good and flexs like a beast with the rear long arms.

cLAYH
08-23-2008, 09:46 PM
Don't forget that you were taking up shop space the whole time, even if he wasn't working on it.

dangerousdave
08-23-2008, 11:48 PM
well it seems like the welding bill is the only thing you can really contest then. Most of the shops i have ever talked to have a rate of $50 a hour. So yeah you might be able to argue that price some But i agree the rest seems right.

Clay is right also. you did take up space in the shop as well. In a buisness like that space = Money. Plus if you used his tools its different too.

Next time i would make him give me a quote. I kinda did the same thing not long ago. In the end though you have to pay what he says since you didnt get a quote.

BigDaveZJ
08-23-2008, 11:55 PM
What shop are you finding labor rates of $50/hr at????

fpkites
08-24-2008, 12:01 AM
I'd kill for $50 an hour...I'd sure be doing a fuck of a lot less in the carport at that price.

dangerousdave
08-24-2008, 12:27 AM
one of the local steel shops. They might not do a long arm kit, But back when i was talking about building my track bar bracket I called howard steel out here and they said they would do the welding for $50 a hour to cut the steel, weld it and drill it all to the specs i had. Me being dumb i didnt realize how sweet of a deal that really was. So I did the bracket.

Obviously they would not install it on the car if they did it for you so we might be looking at a different price then.

BigDaveZJ
08-24-2008, 12:29 AM
So then it's really apples and oranges. Most basic repair shops around here charge $80-$100 an hour, custom fab work even more.

Dirtdiver
08-24-2008, 12:38 AM
A rear end rebuild in the Labor guide is like six hours and the same for a T-case. Plus your 66 hours of work that he is losing for your space, thats an additional loss to the shop. Take it and say thanks for the help and his shop.

dangerousdave
08-24-2008, 12:40 AM
wow it dont take long for you to be able to buy a welder then.

Dirtdiver
08-24-2008, 12:45 AM
Legally you dont pay if you dont have a qoute signed but you are on a verbal agreement with your dads buddy so you SOL.

dangerousdave
08-24-2008, 12:48 AM
well he will put a lean on it if you dont pay. plus its bad business if you dont and you can guarantee that you would never be welcome in the shop again.

Dirtdiver
08-24-2008, 01:08 AM
Its his fault for not having a singed quote prior to the work, granted. As for the shop charging when the work is done and not giving him a better idea on a price quote before the work, is bad buisness. You should always have a signed qoute with the total on labor and a price range on parts prior to the work beign started, that way it protects the shop and the customer from any misunderstanding like he has now.

grandmaster
08-24-2008, 01:13 AM
Don't forget that you were taking up shop space the whole time, even if he wasn't working on it.

Yes I know this, and I still got a deal even if he did want 1400 dollars. I know in Wendovor (dont know how you spell it) they have a shop where you can do your own work and rent out a lift for $100 an hour, no tools included, and yes i did use his tools


well it seems like the welding bill is the only thing you can really contest then. Most of the shops i have ever talked to have a rate of $50 a hour. So yeah you might be able to argue that price some But i agree the rest seems right.

Clay is right also. you did take up space in the shop as well. In a buisness like that space = Money. Plus if you used his tools its different too.

Next time i would make him give me a quote. I kinda did the same thing not long ago. In the end though you have to pay what he says since you didnt get a quote.

Yeah i did get a little screwed sense i didn't get a clue, and the price was set all except the welding thing, thats what he said i could decide how much i thought was fair. His shop has 3 bays, 2 have lifts, and I was on one of them. He mostly just does work for people he knows, not just walk ins. So it's not like he is extremely busy, and he currently is building a YJ in one of those bays also


A rear end rebuild in the Labor guide is like six hours and the same for a T-case. Plus your 66 hours of work that he is losing for your space, thats an additional loss to the shop. Take it and say thanks for the help and his shop.
He told me without the discount for the axle normal labor rate would have been $514 not $375. Same with the t-case, so i got somewhat of a deal for that stuff. I did say thanks, but read to the end for the rest of the story.



well he will put a lean on it if you dont pay. plus its bad business if you dont and you can guarantee that you would never be welcome in the shop again.

Don't plan on going back, could have done it all on my own, next time i will just invest the 1400 on a welder.


So all in all I learned my leason, and this is what ended up going down...

I went in and talked to him the day after my last post. I told him I had $900 dollars left in my bank accout (which was the truth, 925, the 25 has to stay to keep the account open) I told him anything he wanted over 900 ( which 900 was basically dropping the whole welding and mics. cost) that i would get it from my parents and just pay them off. Well he is a really nice guy and knows a lot about jeeps and how suspensions work and suspension geometry goes, we didn't cut any corners. He pretty much said Ok $900 will be fine,

i said "are you sure"

he said "yes, more money is always good, but my shop isnt busy right now so that will be fine."

and that was that. It probably makes no sence, but i guess you could say i got off easy.

JBN311
08-24-2008, 10:11 AM
THat was good.....You had 900 to give and he accepted.

LouisianaZJ
08-24-2008, 11:52 AM
my local shop charged me $250 to rebuld an axle, t-case is about $300

the other shop in town quoted $500 to rebuild an axle... they mostly do 2wd F150's with 35'' thornturds an 18" lift

Dirtdiver
08-24-2008, 01:21 PM
Thats whats its all about, making customers stay with the shop. You had 900 and he didnt argue over it and you were willing to get the rest but he knew you werent trying to screw him and came in with the right attitude. Good job.

grandmaster
08-24-2008, 02:11 PM
Yeah, and like I said he is a nice guy and understood the postion I was in being just a week away from going down to college. So I'm glad it all went well and i made out pretty good.

zj95maxx
08-24-2008, 03:23 PM
Drive it here and I weld for free, but warranty on my work is voided when you leave my driveway:weedman::weedman::weedman:

dangerousdave
08-24-2008, 07:15 PM
its cool it all worked out. The plus on the whole thing is your are lifted and ready to go.

grandmaster
08-24-2008, 09:50 PM
Ha ha i dont have a problem welding, i've gotten pretty good at it. It's the welding to the uni-body that i won't do and can't do. And your warranty is just as good because i did't even get a warranty. Next time I need something done (front long arms/ front axle swap) I will be sure to give you a call and see if i can drive it out there. Might be about the same price.

Very happy overall with how the situation turned out.

jsteves
08-24-2008, 11:52 PM
i cant believe i just read all that.

grandmaster
08-25-2008, 01:39 AM
ha ha ha yeah, it was pretty long sorry. Tried to shorten it as much as I could, what did you think? LOL